


Everybody Talks

by Shekiyah



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shekiyah/pseuds/Shekiyah
Summary: A new girl comes to town and shakes up the Garrison for a night. Her confidence intrigues Tommy Shelby.
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Original Female Character(s), Tommy Shelby/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Everybody Talks

He'd been watching her since she entered the busy Garrison alone. She had walked to the bar, her head high as she moved through the men and sat at one of the few open seats near Harry. The men had parted easily, their tired eyes sharpening as they noticed the woman's bright dress practically shining against the dirt and drab colors of their work uniforms. 

A flurry of "ma'am" and head dips were left in her wake. She simply smiled and continued on as the men searched for her invisible escort. 

Tommy watched from the booze door in the private room tucked beside the bar. 

Harry hadn't noticed her yet; too busy getting the Blinders their drinks, blustering about with a curse under his breath. Tom waited, watching the men grow increasingly uneasy around the woman as they realized she had no escort. 

Harry brought a bottle and multiple glasses to the booze door, mumbling apologies for the wait. 

"Right busy night, it is," Harry said as he handed the goods over. 

"The woman," Tom said, "she's not a regular."

"I seen her," Harry grumbled. "I'll kick her out next. No trace of a man at her side."

"No," Tom said. "Explain the rule, but give her the drink. Then send her my way."

"I can deal with a whore, Tom," Harry stammered. "You no need to get involved."

Tom met Harry's eyes for a moment as he licked his lip, his brows curling together before he closed the booze door and sat back down around his brothers. 

"What are you bothering with small business, brother?" Arthur said as he slid the bottle and a glass to himself and started to pour a drink.

"She pretty, then?" John laughed. "That's what it is, in it?"

Arthur looked at John before looking at Tommy, who had settled in to the spot directly in front of the door without saying a word. He muttered a curse and started to chuckle to himself as he passed John the bottle. 

"Well lookit that," Arthur said as he leaned back. "Our brother's still warm blooded after all."

Moments later she walked in the room without a knock, looking between the bored man in front of her and the two slack-jawed men sitting further away.

"I see," Arthur murmured behind his glass. 

"Who bloody well couldn't," John said louder, earning an elbow to his side. 

"Right," the woman said, returning her gaze to Tommy.

"What kind of man sends another man to bring a girl over?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. Whether it was in defiance or amusement remained unknown.

He paused, waiting a breath or two, eyes locked on hers as the gears in his head churned. He wasn't slow -- quite the opposite -- but he learned at a young age that making people wait on you makes them uncomfortable. Makes them feel like they need you. And it gave him time to decide his next ten moves.

"The important kind," he finally said, even toned, practically bored in comparison to her voice. 

"You don't look so important to me," she said as her eyes ran over his vest, shirt, coat. Her voice danced around like a sprite on a summer's breeze. "Nice enough outfit, but nothing flashy enough to mean money or any real power."

She took a sip of her drink, reenacting Tommy's pause. John barked a laugh. 

"Bird's got a mouth on her," he said as he rolled next to Arthur, who was doing his best to hide his smile in his moustache. 

"My brothers were just leaving," Tommy said, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "Sit."

Arthur broke into a grin as John climbed over him and they both rolled out of the booth. John stumbled to his feet and grabbed the bottle off the table as he saluted his brother, making eyes at the woman as he brushed past her. Arthur stood and tried to walk by her with a nod and a "ma'am" before shooting his eyebrows up suggestively behind her toward Tom. 

"You're not from here," Tommy said once the brothers shut the door as he eyed her new dress. "Too clean cut to be from a local family."

"I'm Mary's cousin, Elsie," she offered with a smirk. "From London. My father decided I was too wild and sent me to dirty little Small Heath to find a job and be a proper girl."

"Your father sent you to Small Heath to be proper?" Tom said as his brows raised and he smirked into the cigarette dangling from his lips. "That may well be a first, Elsie."

He rolled her name around his tongue, appraising the woman in front of him. Her dress was stiff and bright, as if she had never worn it before, but it fit her like a glove. She was either from money or waltzed into Small Heath hoping to make an impression. 

"I thought I told you to sit."

"You did," Elsie said as she casually sipped her drink. "You never got up to let me in beside you or given me your name."

"Tommy," he said, standing to let her slide beside him in the booth. "Tommy Shelby."

"Tommy, not Tom or Thomas?" She smiled as she brushed past him. She smelled of strawberries and rum. "How cute."

They toyed with each other through the night, pressing boundaries and examining each other like a new creature they discovered. Tommy was intrigued. It has been so long since someone hadn't flinched at the name Shelby.

At the end of the night, he offered to take her home. Elsie smiled, playing with the lapel of his jacket before looking up at him and shaking her head no. 

"Can I kiss you, Elsie?" Tommy asked, suddenly very aware how close their faces were. 

He licked his lips and could almost feel her breath on his tongue. She looked up at him with her bright eyes and kissed him first. He froze, confused for a moment before he melted into her warm kiss. Her hand at his lapel wrapped around the fabric and pulled him closer as his hand found her cheek. 

"Money's counted and everything's cleaned, boss, do you want me to leave you--" Harry said as he walked through the door, nearly hitting them both. He grunted and swiftly tossed a stack of money on the table before closing the door behind him. 

Elsie pulled away at the noise, her eyes wide as Harry rushed out. She looked up at Tommy, giggling in embarrassment as she pressed her face into his neck and shoulder. 

"I believe that's my cue," she said as she took a step back. "I'll see you around, Mr. Shelby."

Tommy had never felt such a chill as he did when she left his side and disappeared into the night.

\---

Weeks later, Elsie had found herself a respectable job as a seamstress apprentice at a suit shop on the edge of Small Heath. She had settled in fine after she got in terrible for her first night in town when she had visited The Garrison. 

Something she would have to get used to. The place was too small, too interwoven to allow her to move without eyes following and mouths wagging back to her relatives. But the gossip of a small town hadn't been all unwelcome. She had learned quickly that Tommy Shelby had been an important man just as he had said he was. 

Her face scrunched as she concentrated on the hem she was mending. She heard the bell for the door ring but she was too busy to look up. She heard one of the other girls greet the customer and went back to concentrating on the garment she was working on. 

"Elsie?" Mrs. Lundy called, "I need help with pinning this man's jacket, be a dear and come help." 

Elsie sighed, frustrated at the interruption, and set the garment down on the counter as she headed to the back where the fitting rooms were. She grabbed a cushion of pins as she rounded the corner and saw a familiar set of blue eyes.

"Elsie, dear," Mrs. Lundy said, her smile tight, "this is Mr. Shelby, he's--"

"A very important man," you finished for her as your eyes dipped to his jacket. "Yes, I've heard of the Shelbys."

"Have you?" Tommy said amusedly. 

"Yes sir," Elsie said firmly as Mrs. Lundy instructed her to pin the bottom as she pinned his sleeves. "Everybody talks."

She no longer would meet his eye and her playfulness had disappeared.

"So you have," he said evenly, looking back to the wall as they finished. 

After a few moments, Tommy cleared his throat. 

"Mrs. Lundy, if you could be so kind as to tidy up my bill, your apprentice can finish the last few pins," he said to the woman. "I've got business to attend to and really must be off."

"Of course, of course, Mr. Shelby," Mrs. Lundy said with a smile as she shot a look to Elsie, who was almost done with her pins. She disappeared quickly to the register.

"What happened to the reckless girl at the pub, eh?" Tommy said as Elsie checked over the pins on his sleeves. "I'd like to see her again."

"She's in trouble for spending her first night at a pub with a gangster," Elsie sighed. "I didn't know you were dangerous."

"Who said I was dangerous to you?"

"Everyone."

"Everyone talks too much," Tommy sighed as Elsie took off his jacket. "Especially in Small Heath. Have dinner with me."

"Is that a request or an order?" Elsie snapped as she folded the jacket. She stilled as her eyes grew wide. 

Tommy's eyebrow raised as he fought a smile.

"There she is."


End file.
